RWBY: Heart of a Huntress
by PJO Fan Power
Summary: When six-year-old Wolf Faunus Ruby Rose is taken away from her home in Patch, she doesn't know what to think. All she knows is that her dad doesn't love her, her aunt does, and that she wants to be a huntress. She'll do anything to reach that goal, even live eight years in a place she doesn't know with a person she doesn't trust. Rewrite for RWBY: A Faunus Life! Currently Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

Ruby stared in wonder at the shattered moon of Remnant. Her six year old eyes were wide with happiness and excitement. If only she knew how drastically that would change in such little time...

Her Aunt Raven had come over, and had immediately taken a strong interest in Ruby. It could've been her eyes, or her extra set of ears... but Ruby believed that she was just too cute for anyone to resist. And cute she was. While petite and small, her big, innocent, silver eyes, her heart shaped face, and her natural crimson hair seemed to pull in any onlooker.

Why was she excited, you ask? Her Aunt Raven had promised to take her into town to get some cookies from the bakery. She loved peanut butter cookies, since she couldn't have chocolate ones. She didn't know why, but her daddy would never let her. The thought itself made her pout. How did he know that she wouldn't love them?

Speaking of her Aunt, her she came now. "Auntie!" Ruby squealed, and jumped into Raven's arms. The moment she had talked about cookies, she had become the best person in Ruby's books. Ruby really didn't know too much about Raven, but she liked cookies, and Raven liked cookies, so they were definitely going to become best friends.

Making their way into town, the duo were chatting before Raven asked a question that most kids at six wouldn't know the answer to. "So... Ruby, how much would you want to be a huntress when you go up?" Ruby's eyes widened then sparkled.

"More than anything in the world! I want to be like a ninja!" She struck a ninja-like pose. "Bwah! Twah! Hiii y-AHHHHHH!" Ruby tipped over and got a mouthful of dirt. She rose quickly, and was still grinning as she wiped the dirt off her tongue with her hand. "Anyway, you get the point."

Raven nodded. "Yes... I believe I do." That was all Ruby heard before everything went black.

* * *

When her eyes opened, Ruby was immediately scared. She may have acted mature, but she still was only six. It was dark, and she could feel herself shifting up and down. She poked her head up, and she found herself in what seemed to be the underside of a ship, tucked under a silver cloak. Looking around, she found her Aunt sitting on a bench, reading a book.

"Aunt Raven?" She called out. Her Aunt's head whipped towards her.

"Ah, Ruby, you're awake. I'm sorry I couldn't have told you before we left, but I couldn't risk you not believing me."

"Believing you about what?" Ruby timidly spoke.

"Your father. He is a cruel man, and I couldn't let you stay there. He told me himself that he was going to get rid of you." Looking away, Ruby couldn't see Raven's smirk.

"Daddy didn't like me...?" Ruby whispered.

"No. He hated you. He didn't want you to have any freedom to be yourself. He was upset that you were better than him. Let your hood down. Be yourself, Ruby."

"But Daddy told me to never let my hood down..." Ruby muttered, teardrops running down her face.

"Didn't you hear what I said? He didn't want everyone to know that you were better than him." Ruby sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve, before sliding her hood back and down. Instantly, two canine ears popped up, finally free of their confines.

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked, wanting to know what was going on.

"To my house, in Vale." Raven answered.

"Where in Vale?"

"What do you mean, where in Vale?"

"Where in Vale?" Raven was confused.

"Vale, Vale..?" The response came as more of a question, but it made Ruby's eyes sparkle.

"We're going to the mainland?" Her eyes sparkled once again, seemingly forgetting the fact that she had been kidnapped from her home and told that her father didn't love her.

"Yes, you haven't been before?" Raven was shocked, although she quickly covered it up.

"Yeah... Daddy always said it wasn't safe..."

"Ruby..." Raven knelt before Ruby. "Forget whatever your father has told you. He never wanted what was best for you. But I do."

Ruby accepted it without ever thinking that it was a lie with her innocent six year old mind. "What are we going to do at your house?"

"We are going to train. Well, you're going to train. But I'm going to teach you."

"Teach me what?" Ruby questioned.

"Well, Ruby, how to be a Huntress, of course."

* * *

Raven's "house" was more like a mansion, hidden in the woods of Vale. Gigantic, it provided secrecy and comfort, but lacked the essential need of a child growing up - Human interaction.

* * *

Year One

For Ruby's seventh birthday, Ruby was given her first weapon project - to build a weapon suitable for a Huntress. She knew she wasn't as tall, even though she drank all her milk, so she wanted a weapon with a longer reach. But not a sword. Swords were for dumb, boring people in her eyes. And not a spear, because in her words, "Spears are stupid!" giving no further explanation. She had almost decided on a bow, but realized that she wanted to show everyone her talent and combat, not just at aiming and pulling a string. That left one, final idea in her mind - a scythe.

* * *

Year Two

On Ruby's eighth birthday, she discovered her semblance. Raven was bringing her a cookie tray when she tripped on a chair leg. Ruby never realized that Raven's natural instincts were too good to ever have made the mistake. Her semblance wasn't speed, really, but she could slow down other forces, such as people's perceptions, gravity, and time. But she couldn't bother with the technical things. All she knew was that her snickerdoodle and peanut butter cookies were falling, and she wanted to stop it. So she did.

* * *

Year Three

Ruby had come further than most adults ever would have with her knowledge and use of a scythe. But she wasn't finished yet. To enhance her attacks, Raven bought Ruby a Dust Kit for her ninth birthday. While Ruby had nearly set fire to the house, and had exploded a vase with a lightning bolt before she got the dust under control, she was determined to get better. And get better she did. She was more suited for Fire Dust and Lightning Dust than the other two types, and Raven believed that this was because both elements were sudden, and she was quick. Ruby accepted without further question.

* * *

Year Four

Ruby had been playing hide and seek in the house when she had found it the first time. In Raven's room, under the bed. A small black box containing dozens of letters. She read through one. It talked about "Raven's student" and "Hench woman", the latter Ruby didn't understand. She didn't understand what they were talking about when they mentioned an "exchange" multiple times. This planted the seed of doubt in Ruby's mind. But she wanted to learn, and be the best. So, on her tenth birthday, she asked Raven to teach her subjects that she would've learned in school.

* * *

Year Five

Ruby had become a master at the scythe. For her eleventh birthday, Raven had dressed her up in a black kimono and a mask and had told her she was going to fight an opponent. She introduced him as a teacher at a place called Signal Academy, but gave no other name. But, as Ruby found out, he used a scythe, too. At least, most of the time. He surprised her by having a sword take the place of his scythe when he found that his skills weren't superior to hers. But, overall, he had more experience, and she hadn't learned enough to beat a trained Huntsman. For this reason, she decided that she needed to upgrade her own weapon and increase her own skill. Thus, her Scythe was now also a rifle.

* * *

Year Six

Ruby was finishing her studies when she heard voices upstairs. Using her semblance, she crept unseen into the room, where a red portal was opening **(1)**. Then, she watched as another woman walked through. She had black hair and pale skin, as well as a red dress. Unknowingly, Ruby blushed as she found the girl to be cute. She realized that the woman, while older than her, was not older by far. She was only a teenager. But then they started talking, and Ruby recognized some of the phrases they used to be some in the letters that she had gone over multiple times. When they finished talking, the unknown girl said, "Open up another portal for me, Raven?" To which her aunt replied,

"Always." Ruby went back downstairs before she could be discovered missing. She was disgusted when Raven came down smiling as if she hadn't just talked about trading her niece to a person she didn't know. After this, she started to work on being in tune with her Faunus side. She was a wolf Faunus, one of the last ones, according to her aunt. Although, she didn't know how much she could trust Raven anymore. On her twelfth birthday, she started stockpiling.

* * *

Year Seven

Ruby had been stockpiling money and other essentials for a year now. She was now working on improving her semblance, which was still very unused, even though it was powerful. She had caught Raven and the girl meeting multiple times over the past year, finally finding out that the girl's name was Cinder. Over time, her semblance had escalated to the point where she could control the rose petals that flew behind her when she used the ability, and make it so she could focus her semblance on certain things, or other people. But she had little to no social skills. For the plan she was making to work, she needed to know how to talk to people. So she talked in the mirror, but stopped once it started to talk back.

* * *

Year Eight

For the past year, Ruby had been training her mind and her body. She had money. She had clothes. She had a weapon. She knew how to survive, and was physically capable of doing so. So, on her fourteenth birthday, she put her plan into action. By the time Raven would realize she was gone, she would already be in Vale. She had no idea what she would do once she was there, but she didn't mind. Cinder's visits had become more frequent and urgent, and she had a feeling that sooner or later, most likely sooner, something would happen that she _really_ wouldn't like. So she left. Her main goal was to become a Huntress, as it had always been. The main academy for Huntresses in the Kingdom of Vale was Beacon. So that was her goal.

The day she turned fourteen, she ran away. Raven was out in the morning, as she always was. Ruby packed a bag full of clothes and a single credit card that had access to all of her money. She also grabbed a few books and keepsakes. Bundled in her silver cloak that she had woken up in on that fateful day on the ship, and with her weapon, _Rose_ , on her back she left the only home she had known for the past eight years. As she got outside into the chilly October air, she immediately ran into the way she knew Vale was **(2)**. When she got there, it was dark, and she was tired. There were candles lit and weird decorations hung up everywhere.

Kids ran around with parents not too far behind, everyone dressed in costumes of everything from Grimm to princesses to witches. As she looked around for an inn, she thought to herself, _'This place is weird. But... I like it. And I don't care. All that matters is that I'm free.'_ And she was free. At least, for now.

* * *

 **AND THERE YOU GO, MY PEOPLES! This is the rewrite for RWBY: A Faunus Life. This is the first chapter, and I used some ideas from the comments in it. However, I tried to keep the overall plot the same. While this didn't directly talk about her Faunus traits too much, they were referenced, and they will be important in the future. Anyway, who's with me for that RubyxCinder ship, yeh?**

 **1 - Raven's semblance is to open portals to people she has bonded with.**

 **2 - Ruby's birthday is on October 31st, or Halloween. Search it up if you don't believe me!**

 **Date Written - 2/3/2018**

 **Word Count - 2,169 Words**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back to Heart of a Huntress, people! I realize that the last chapter was rather short compared to some stories, but that will be about the average chapter length. And to everyone who left a review, a special thanks to you! Also, who knows if it'll be CinderxRuby? I dropped several hints to pairings in "A Faunus Life", and none of those went anywhere. Except for that one person who talked about not liking abusive dad stories. THIS ISN'T AN ABUSIVE DAD STORY! RAVEN WAS LYING TO GET RUBY TO GO WITH HER! TAI IS THIS SUPER DUPER COOL DUDE EXCEPT HE HANGS OUT WITH TEACHERS.**

 **Oh, I should also mention, Ruby knows about simple things like money, the divide between the Faunus and the Humans, the Schnee Dust Company, the White Fang, and the wars. Since she was studying and stuff, it would make sense for her to know that, even if she didn't go outside much.**

 **Sad face because I started this about five days after the first chapter, then school work came up and I became busy :/**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY!**

* * *

Ruby didn't know what to do with her newfound freedom. While she knew she wanted to be a Huntress, she had no way of getting to Beacon. She had no official training, or even records most likely. Raven had probably destroyed all of those.

What she did know, however, was that she could make her own choices. So, she made a responsible one - getting chocolate chip cookies.

* * *

A few minutes later, her nose had led her towards a bakery in downtown Vale. The smell that was wafting from it told Ruby that the cookies inside would be delicious. As she entered the store, the smell only strengthened. Her eyes widened as she looked at the rows upon rows of cookies. Unbeknownst to her, she had entered one of the largest bakeries in the kingdom of Remnant.

She gazed upon the rows and rows of cookies, but the place was so large, she got lost. An adult came over, probably having seen her lost look. "Hey, sweetie. Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Ruby was confused until she realized the woman was talking to _her_. She decided it was as much of a good time as any to get some practice talking to other people. Recalling what she had learned before, she smiled and looked straight into the woman's eyes. "Nope! I just wanted to buy some chocolate chip cookies!"

The woman was taken aback. She had never met a child that had looked as cute as this one. Although, she seemed kind of young to be without her parents. She only looked to be about nine or ten years old. But, she was not a mature woman for nothing. She resisted the urge the coo at the girl's pure adorableness, and spoke neatly. "I can help you with that. Would you like to come with me?" It was probably a bad thing that Ruby said yes immediately, but she paid no mind to it.

"That will be nine Lien please." She smiled at the girl.

Ruby wriggled her eyebrow in concentration, opening up her backpack. She carefully picked out a ten Lien card and handed it to the woman, making sure nobody saw what she had, and grabbed the box of twelve, fresh baked cookies. She smiled, barely throwing the woman a second glance now that she had her favorite treat, and said, "Thank you!" Before rushing off towards the exit.

* * *

Ruby nibbled on a chocolate chip cookie. They didn't seem to be harmful to her. She didn't see why nobody would ever let her have one. She was just walking down the street when she realized that if she ever wanted to buy something, it would look weird to always reach into her bag. She knew there was a smaller bag, but she couldn't remember its name. "Hmm... a horse? No, that doesn't sound right. What about... a curse? No, that's a bad thing... Ah! A purse!" So off she went, in search of a purse.

She was looking around Vale for a place that looked like it would see purses, when she finally found a big building with a picture of exactly what she was thinking of. Almost. She was just imagining... a lot less pink. In the picture was a handbag with a strap that seemed big, but not too big. But... it was bright pink. Almost like it was made to attract everyone's attention, and she didn't want that. Deciding that it didn't matter, she took out another cookie and made a mad dash for the store.

Inside, it seemed completely different than the street outside. Brightly lit, and wafting with scents that mingled together in a peculiar mix. Ruby knew what she came for, and wouldn't be distracted. She went throughout the store, looking for something that would be useful. She didn't need some pretty, pink, sparkly purse. She just needed one that could fit her Lien.

Finally, she found a nice purse. It was silver, and had a short strap that could hang over Ruby's shoulder. She walked up to the register. "Hi, may I buy this please?"

"That's fifty-nine Lien. Do you have enough for it?" The cashier asked Ruby. She seemed bored, as if she wanted to do nothing more than leave work early. She did seem a little surprised when Ruby handed her the money without complaint.

With the new purse tucked safely under her arm, Ruby emptied all of her money into it. It wasn't very organized, but Ruby figured she could do something later. She sat down on a bench near the entrance, and kept nibbling on chocolate chip cookies. It was starting to get dark out, but Ruby could see pretty well in the dark.

All of the sudden, the two doors at the entrance of the building were shoved open, and six men ran in. Five of the men looked the same, with stocky builds, and ski masks over their faces. The sixth, however, seemed to not care about hiding his identity. He was wearing a fedora, and a white suit with a red tie. He was holding a black cane, as well. He had a cigar in his mouth, but as far as Ruby could tell, it wasn't lit, and had never been lit, so it was for appearance.

The cashier that looked scared now, and reached for a button to sound an alarm. However, the fedora man hooked the cane around her hand. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Press that button, and you lose that hand." He smiled, like he was talking about the weather and not about blowing someone's hand off.

He let the hand go, and then turned around to the store. "All of you, start taking off your valuables, jewelry, money, everything. You two," He pointed at two of the men with ski masks. "Cover the door. You other three, start collecting. And you," He turned around to the cashier. "Are going to give me all the jewelry in this case." Everyone hurried to comply to the man's demands.

Except for Ruby, of course. She just kept nibbling on cookies. Eventually, one of the masked men got to her. "Hey, kid!" He growled at her. "Didn't you hear him? Take off that cape, and that purse! And, what's in that bag? Take it off! Now!"

Ruby looked at the man. He didn't seem to have too strong of an aura, so she figured she wouldn't do too much. "Would you like to see what's inside the bag, sir?" The man looked at her in disdain.

"Sure, whatever kid." He grunted. Ruby smiled, but it wasn't an innocent smile. In a matter of seconds, the man was face-down on the floor, knocked out. The bag of valuables he was holding fell onto the ground, creating a large sound that attracted the attention of everyone. Ruby looked down at the man, and smiled.

"Did you like it? I call it Lunar Rose." Her scythe was perched on her shoulder. It was about as tall as her, and was mostly light gray. However, the blade was pitch black, and there was a pink floral pattern circling down the shaft. Midway down the shaft, there was also a cylinder.

The two other masked men ran over to her location, ready to attack the girl that had downed their friend. They attacked at the same time, both using thick swords, which were obviously more for intimidation than anything. She found it fun to jump on top of the swords, managing to balance for a second before she jumped again.

Coming down, she hooked the shaft of Lunar Rose under each man's chin, and used the combination of downward momentum and gravity to bring them down to the ground. Both were out like a light. This had finally attracted the attention. He said, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A girl, trying to play hero?" Without a second thought, he shot the end of his cane at her, barely missing as she dived out of the way. "Missed, did that? No matter."

"What is the point of this? Everyone else has worked hard to get this money, and now you're just trying to take it!" Ruby yelled at him. The fedora man sighed.

"You innocent types are just _so_ annoying. Don't you guys ever shut up about wrong and right?" He fired three shots at her from the end of his cane, which she dodged with her semblance. Two had hit the bench behind her, which she had been sitting on previously. The third... had gone directly through her box of cookies, of which seven were left. Now, all seven were smoking ashes.

"You just destroyed my cookies. I liked those!" Ruby growled. The fedora man sweat dropped.

"I just shot at you, and you're mad I hit your cookies?" He sighed. "Whatever. If I can't hit you, I'll hit her instead." He swung his cane up at the cashier, and Ruby immediately activated her semblance as he was pulling down the trigger, giving the woman enough time to duck down. The shot hit a pillar near the end of the store. Ruby released her semblance, and the fedora man seemed surprised the shot didn't hit.

"How...?" He stopped his question and shook his head. "Whatever, I have what I need." He ran towards the entrance, and nodded to the two men. "We're going now." They ran out the door, and Ruby ran to stop them, but she couldn't activate her semblance on all three of them from so far away. She was forced to watch as the men escaped on a Bullhead, the man with the fedora seeming to mock her as her stared at her through the open side door.

* * *

The police showed up about ten minutes later, accompanied by a woman with blonde hair. The police seemed to be more focused on making sure everyone was alright, and got their property returned to them, as well as arresting the three masked men.

The blonde woman made a beeline for Ruby, who was still mourning the loss of her cookies by staring out the window. She whirled around when she heard heels click behind her.

"You're coming with me, young girl." The woman's tone offered no chance of negotiation or complaint, and Ruby found herself walking behind the woman as she walked out of the store. Outside of the store, she turned to Ruby. "What happened in there?"

"Well, there was this dude, and he walked in with a few guys, and he told every-" She was cut off.

"Do you think I'm dumb?! I want to know what you did!" The blonde haired woman was very scary to Ruby, who started to shrink away from her. Seeing this, the woman sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper. But kids your age shouldn't have those kinds of skills. Or even a weapon, for that matter."

Ruby grew slightly angry hearing the comment about her age. "Well, I'm fourteen! Fourteen and a day, actually! I'm old enough to have a weapon! And I drink milk! I do! I'm just small! I've been training with Lunar Rose since I was seven and a half! So I'm sorry if I want to be a Huntress!"

The blonde woman's eyes widened. "A Huntress, you say...? I happen to know someone who teaches Huntresses... but usually they're about sixteen. You're a little young... Maybe he'll make an exception..."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ruby was sitting on a park bench, licking an ice cream cone that she had bought. She and the blonde woman, who had introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch (Just Ms. Goodwitch!) were waiting for Ms. Goodwitch's boss, who seemed to be late. Finally, a man showed up, heading towards them.

"Finally, Ozpin! We've been waiting for a good twenty minutes out here!"

"It'll will be worth the wait." "Ozpin" turned Ruby. She couldn't tell his age, but he seemed very smart. "So... you want to be a Huntress?"

* * *

 **Content Word Count - 2,001 Words. Finished 5/14/18**


	3. Chapter 3

**I apologize, I've been on a vacation for the past week in New Jersey, which delayed any and all updating. Thankfully, I am back. The update schedule will be this story, HOAH, TUC, and then AMO. (If you don't read my other stories, this is irrelevant.)**

* * *

 _ **Recap: Last Chapter**_

 _Fifteen minutes later, Ruby was sitting on a park bench, licking an ice cream cone that she had bought. She and the blonde woman, who had introduced herself as Glynda Goodwitch (Just Ms. Goodwitch!) were waiting for Ms. Goodwitch's boss, who seemed to be late. Finally, a man showed up, heading towards them._

 _"Finally, Ozpin! We've been waiting for a good twenty minutes out here!"_

 _"It'll will be worth the wait." "Ozpin" turned to Ruby. She couldn't tell his age, but he seemed very smart. "So... you want to be a Huntress?"_

* * *

"Yes sir, more than anything in the world!" Ruby said in response to the question.

"Here, another question: Is there anything special about your eyes?" Ozpin asked.

"Yup!" Ruby smiled.

"And what would that be?"

"I only know two people with my eye color!" Ruby liked her eyes. She knew they were special, but not of the power they held.

"Two, you say?"

"Yup! Me and my mom!"

"My mom and I." Glynda corrected from the other room, which made Ozpin chuckle.

"Relax, Glynda, she's not a student yet." This made Ruby's heart leap with joy, because he was implying that she might become a student soon. "Anyway, what have you been doing your entire life?"

"I've been training with my aunt."

"Very interesting."

"Why is that interesting, sir?"

"We've got no records on you whatsoever. It doesn't help that you never told us your name. I suppose you'll have to tell me, in time."

"I'm not surprised. I was told that my dad was disappointed in me, because of what I am." Ruby looked saddened at the thought.

"What you are?" In response, Ruby flipped her hood back. Two small ears poked out on top of her head.

"A Faunus. A Wolf Faunus, to be exact. I haven't heard of any others." She told him.

"Neither have I. But, moving on, who told you that?"

"My aunt, which is who I've be- _was_ staying with for the past few years."

"Was?"

"I ran away yesterday. I've had some suspicions that her intentions have never been pure."

"Is that where you learned to fight like that?"

"Like what?"

"How you fought in the shop. Those men were trained criminals, and you took them out easily."

Ruby snorted. "Trained criminals? Nah. They were just big and muscular."

"Answer the question, please."

"Yeah, I've been training there for years."

"Have you been studying, too? Or simply training?"

"A lot of studying. I had to split everything fifty-fifty."

"Who made your scythe?" Ozpin asked.

"I did, of course."

"What's it made out of?"

"Pure steel. That's all I could use."

"Surely not completely steel. That would be over a hundred pounds, easily." Glynda said.

"Would you like to hold it?" Ruby asked, completely serious. Glynda scoffed.

"Sure." Ruby held it out with one hand, and Glynda grabbed it, nearly falling over, not expecting the weight.

"This must be nearly two hundred pounds! How can you possibly carry this?" Ruby puffed out her (rather modest) chest.

"Because I drink milk!" Ozpin doubled over laughing. "The upkeep is hard, and it can't cut through a lot, but I love it."

Ozpin replied, "Don't worry. At Beacon, you can make one out of better materials."

"At Beacon, sir?"

"You know who I am, do you not?"

"Of course. You are Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, a school that trains Hunters and Huntresses."

"Correct. Although not conventional, I would like to invite you to attend Beacon Academy. You want to become a Huntress, do you not?"

"I would be honored, sir."

* * *

Two days later, Ruby stood in front of Beacon Academy, draped in her silver cloak, and holding the bag that she had left Raven's Mansion with. In the past two days, she had gone shopping twice; Once for clothes, and once for materials. She had looked over the reading materials, which were things she had all but covered years ago. The only thing that she had ever needed help with was dust. She still did, although it'd be nigh impossible to get her to admit it aloud.

Ruby started walking towards the school. She attempted to walk into the school, but was pushed aside by a white haired girl who seemed to be furious. She seemed familiar, but Ruby couldn't place her finger on it. "You should watch where you're going." Ruby told the girl, who whirled around.

"Maybe you should get out of my way next time! Do you know who I am? I am Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Dust Company!" Ruby raised an eyebrow. _'So that's why she looks familiar. She's bratty. I hate brats.'_

"Does having money make you more important than everyone else? Does it mean that we don't have the right to walk in the same space as you, _Princess_?" Ruby scowled. "Oh, wait, I remember now. Your family isn't too big on equal rights." A few people had stopped to listen to the commotion, and they went wide-eyed after hearing that. A blonde haired girl turned to her new "friend" Blake.

"That girl seems to have a backbone. Always nice to see one of those around here." The black haired girl shushed her and responded,

"Be quiet, Yang."

Weiss, meanwhile, was fuming. _'This miserable piece of-'_ Her thought process was cut off by her realizing that her family truly was against Faunus rights, and they made it extremely public. But, she wasn't her family, and she hated them . And she was determined to prove that she was different. So, she took a deep breath, sighed, and stomped down her pride. "You're right. I'm... I apologize."

Ruby blinked once. Blinked twice. Then fell over in shock, along with about half of the crowd surrounding them. Weiss sweatdropped. But Ruby popped up and brushed herself off, and then nodded. "I accept your apology." And held out her hand to be shook. Weiss looked at it for a few seconds with a raised eyebrow, before slowly reaching out and shaking the offered hand.

* * *

The two went off in search of the cafeteria, although not much talking was going on. Finally, Ruby tried to break the silence. "So... why were you so mad?" Instantly, Weiss reddened.

"Some blonde haired idiotic boy was trying to show off to me, and managed to end up tripping and landed on one of my bags, almost setting off a chain reaction of dust that would've exploded half of the damn courtyard!" Weiss raged. Ruby just blinked.

"I can see why you'd be angry." Was all she said.

When they finally found the cafeteria, they were some of the last students there. They took a seat at one of the only tables remaining, which currently seated the two girls from before, an energetic orange haired girl, and her companion, a calm raven haired boy. There were only two seats remaining after Ruby and Weiss had sat down.

A blond haired boy came up an introduced himself in what Ruby assumed he was hoping for a confident way. "Hello, ladies! The name's Jaune Arc, and I am-" He caught sight of Weiss. "going to sit at another table! Bye!" He rushed off. Ruby turned to Weiss.

"Guy from earlier?" Weiss confirmed,

"Guy from earlier."

"You know, you should-" Ruby started, but Weiss stopped her.

"Don't say it."

"Fiiiiiiine."

"So... you two seem to be friends. My names Yang, and this is my friend Blake." Yang told the duo, ignoring Blake's shout of 'We aren't friends!' in the background.

"Uhh..." Ruby hesitated, but Weiss interjected,

"Yeah! I'm Weiss, although you probably knew that, seeing as to how popular I am." The other occupants of the table sweatdropped. "Anyway, introduce yourself!" Weiss inwardly cringed at how forced that last bit sounded, as she realized that she had never asked the other girl's name.

Ruby suddenly had a flashback.

* * *

 **Four Years Ago**

 _"Ruby, you can never be too careful. There will always be people who look for you, and your father wants you dead. Your real name isn't safe anymore. Lying is a skill you must have. So, I want you to create a fake identity, and I will enter it into the system." Raven told a ten-year-old Ruby._

 _"A fake identity? I can barely remember my first_ _name..." Ruby sniffled, a tear running down her face. "I don't even remember my father, why would he want me dead?"_

 _"Yes, and that is okay. I want it to be as real as possible, real enough to pass off as legitimate." Raven responded, not answering the second question._

 _A week later, Ruby finished. Raven looked over it and approved. "Alright, I think you're ready. You can head off now, Tori_. _"_

* * *

"You can call me Tori. Tori Gray." Ruby smiled, although she knew she shouldn't have been putting her shields up in such a place, it was an automatic defense mechanism for her mind.

"Tori Gray? That's such a pretty name!" Yang explained, already fawning all over the girl. "It matches your eyes, you know!"

Ruby was outwardly calm, but inwardly panicking. _'Why is she acting so... familiar with me? I don't even know her!"_ Her shields were building themselves up, and she could do nothing to stop it. It was an automatic process.

"Thank you, Yang. Enough about me, what about the rest of the table?"

* * *

 **THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED AS OF OCTOBER 14TH! I HATED THE WAY IT WENT, AND I WAS PROBABLY SLEEP-DEPRIVED WHEN I WROTE IT. THE WAY IT WAS WRITTEN PREVIOUSLY ALL BUT RUINED THE STORY, AND I COULDN'T CONTINUE WRITING LIKE THAT. SO, IT HAS BEEN UPDATED, AND I AM HOPEFUL THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE WRITING IT AFTERWARDS.**

 **-PJO Fan Power**


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby could hardly wait for the stupid trial to be over. She had gotten to the stupid site with all of the pieces without seeing a single person, although she didn't suspect it would take long. She had wanted to demonstrate a little bit of her abilities, so... the forest had suffered a little bit. Both in tree population, and Grimm population.

She was proven correct when a girl was launched nearly directly into her. Closer inspection showed that the girl was indeed Pyrrha Nikos, one of the girls she had been talking with the day before. The instant their eyes made contact, something... changed. "Are we partners now?" Ruby asked, very blunt indeed. Pyrrha nodded, slowly regaining her bearings.

"Yeah... although if you could help me up, that would be appreciated. Blondie and whitey decided to have some fun with a scorpion." The redhead explained, as if the sentence automatically would make sense to any rational mind.

"Blondie... and whitey...? Scorpion? Do you mean Yang and Weiss?" Ruby asked the girl she helped up, now her partner. The other girl shook her head.

"The second one sounds right... but not the first... Josh, or something?" Pyrrha shrugged. She was usually good at remembering names, but the boy had been so incompetent she had labelled him as a failed exam immediately. Ruby's face soured.

"Jaune...?" Pyrrha nodded in confirmation. "Oh no... I feel sorry for that poor scorpion... Actually, how did a scorpion launch you from... wherever you were to here?" Ruby felt like that was a question necessary to be answered.

"Oh, the mountain range to the east, and don't worry, it was just an Elder Death Stalker." She mentioned off-handedly, making Ruby tilt her head in confusion.

"Just... an... Elder... Death... Stalker...?" Pyrrha nodded again. "Well, they're probably dead. But, I know you're strong! Want to go kill it together?" Ruby beamed.

"There's something wrong with you."

* * *

As they quickly made their way through the forest in the direction from which Pyrrha came, Pyrrha realized that Ruby was exceptionally strong in terms of both physical strength and aura. She had fun twirling and tossing her scythe whilst jumping quickly from tree to tree. Thanks to her extensive study of metals due to her Semblance of Polarity, Pyrrha could hear that it was solid steel.

It was also clear that the smaller girl hadn't learned how to control her Semblance and aura very well yet, if the tightly packed energy around her was any indication. Pyrrha figured that if they survived the encounter ahead of them, it would be interesting to possibly work with her as a teammate in tournaments.

As they got to the site, Ruby was proven incorrect as Jaune was only unconscious, while Weiss was still fighting, albeit weakly. Pyrrha quickly stepped in, seeing the white-haired girl about to be caught off-guard by the stinger. Of course, none of the two new entrees to the fight had learned the art of subtlety, so the stinger was simply chopped off.

Ruby stayed back and readied a fire dust cartridge into her barrel. Taking a breath, she fired. Just like that, the Death Stalker was missing an eye, one of the only unprotected parts of its' body. Another click was the only indication of the other eye becoming its' twin. Of course, until the roaring started. The Elder Death Stalker, furious at losing its' sight, starting swinging wildly, hitting an unprepared Pyrrha.

"What the heck!" Pyrrha hissed as her boots dug into the ground, stopping her next to the hooded girl. "A little warning next time?" Ruby just shrugged apologetically.

"Can't believe I wasted penetrating bullets on this thing. Those eyes were so weak, a normal metal bullet would've done the trick." Pyrrha looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean? How do you know that?"

"I heard it. Didn't you?" A response was cut off by a claw swiping at the middle of them, courtesy of a Death Stalker attracted to sound. A flash of metal separated the claw from the arm as Ruby scowled. "Excuse me, we were having a conversation." Weiss, who was starting to recover, fainted at the sound of the young girl scolding the Grimm.

Pyrrha looked at the girl in barely-concealed concern. _'Is she actually... okay, though? Who in their right mind would_ talk _to a Grimm that just tried to kill them?'_

"Would you like the final honors, or shall I?" Brought Pyrrha out of her thoughts. Ruby, although known to her as Tori, had impaled the other claw of the Death Stalker with her scythe. Pyrrha stared at her for a second, before walking over and shoving Miló through the subdued Grimm's skull.

"You _are_ crazy..." Pyrrha whispered to herself. "But I like it..."

* * *

"And I would like to introduce you to PRTN, team Pristine, headed by Pyrrha Nikos, followed by Lie Ren, Tori Gray, and Nora Valkyrie. These two pairs picked up the knight pieces!" Professor Ozpin announced to the gathered students and teachers. Ruby sighed in relief, thankful that she wasn't chosen as the leader of the team.

"And, of course, last but not least," he continued, "BWJY, team Bluejay, with Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Jaune Arc, and Yang Xiao-Long, who all picked up the Queen pieces. As a courtesy reminder, classes begin tomorrow, although I'm sure that none of you forgot." He chuckled at the red faces, and stepped off of the stage.

Five minutes past saw the newly formed Team Pristine looked at their new living space.

"It's so... small..." Pyrrha spoke dejectedly. Ruby searched her brain for an idea.

"Bunk beds! We can save space that way!"

"No, absolutely not! Such an idea would be-" She was interrupted by an energetic cheer from a new teammate.

"Bunk beds! Yes! Ren, come on come on come on come on come on come on-" The black-haired boy groaned, obviously used to these antics.

"Whatever. Fine." Ruby smiled triumphantly.

"There! 3 to 1, it's decided!" Pyrrha tilted her head rather cutely.

"And who made this a democracy?" She asked, not even caring anymore.

Ruby snorted. "The democracy did, of course." Pyrrha just shook her head, not even attempting to argue. "Watch this!" Ruby grinned, and then blurred out of existence. A few seconds later, she reappeared _very_ out of breath. The room had changed in the few seconds, also. Instead of four separated beds, there were now two bunk beds, which, Pyrrha had to grudgingly admit, freed up a large amount of space.

The thick metal rods on top of the four windows now supported upper beds, appearing to have been driven multiple inches into the bedposts above and below it with pure force. Two of the four curtains now surrounded the bottom beds, one on each, granting the owner a bit of privacy, while the other two curtains had been spread lengthwise between the two upper beds, connecting them, and forming a sort of "H" shape.

Pyrrha once again had to admit that the design was very nice, although it lacked two vital features, which Ren helpfully pointed out. "Well... how do we know whose bed is whose? And how will the people on top get to their bunks? Actually, for that matter, how did you do that?" Ruby and Nora responded by jumping up to the top bunks, claiming them for their own, although Ruby's jump was a little short, and she had to pull herself up the rest of the way.

"That answers a bit of your questions, I'd say. You two can fight over the remaining tw-" Pyrrha immediately made her way over to the bed that wasn't under Ruby. "Alrighty then, looks like that answers that. As for your last question... well," she winked conspiratorially. "that's a secret."

* * *

 **Content Word Count: 1,320 Words**

 **Total Word Count: 1,519 Words**

 **Finished: 3:31 AM on 11/8/18.**

 **Yes, I understand that this didn't have a lot of action, nor did it have the fight between Ruby and Pyrrha, and I changed literally everything around, and I made the teams something other than colors, and blah blah blah blah blah, I'm sorry, alright? I just wanted to get this chapter out, and it is very crucial to the development of the story! Ruby and Pyrrha's fight will be next chapter, I've decided to do it differently than last time, and hopefully more logically. Also, it should be more intriguing. As for the team shift, I felt that Ruby/Pyrrha might be a possible ship, so I've started it, I find the idea that Weiss is stuck with Jaune absolutely hilarious, and the fact that Ruby being around Yang too long and being a Faunus and all might be too many red flags for Yang, and that would ruin the whole plot. And, also, SCREW THE COLORS. That is all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and see you next time.**

 **-PJO Fan Power**


	5. Chapter 5

4 A.M the next morning saw Ruby sneaking out of the room as quietly as possible. Unbeknownst to her, she was not the only member of Team Pristine awake...

* * *

Ruby had, of course, already found out where the training center was by then. She needed to know all possible routes if an escape was necessary. That was just what had been ingrained into her mind for years upon years.

So, there she was, dripping with sweat before 6 A.M, training with her (still heavy) scythe. It was good that there had been technological advancements in self-repairing dummies, or else the school might've considered kicking her out with how much it'd cost them to have her. She was, of course, aware of the presence of a single person watching her, although she hadn't managed to catch said person's face. She didn't detect any hostility, so she was content to let them watch.

"You should sue whichever shop sold you that monstrosity, Tori." Or not...

"Pyrrha. Should've guessed. Er... no, I probably shouldn't have. There's hundreds of people here, after all!" Ruby might've seemed unusually chipper for so early in the morning, but that was simply how she was. Over-energized 24/7. "And what do you mean, monstrosity?" Pyrrha started walking over.

"Give it." Pyrrha held out her hand as if begging to be denied. So, of course, Ruby denied her.

"After you called it a monstrosity? Never." Pyrrha glared.

" _Give it_." Ruby groaned.

"Fine." Ruby tossed the scythe over, effectively making Pyrrha the second person to not crumple over its weight. Pyrhha tossed it a few times, adding in touches of her semblance to her natural strength to add flair. Then, logically, she chucked it to the other side of the room. Ruby stared, awestruck.

"What was that...?" She asked after a few minutes.

"What was what?" Pyrrha responded nonchalantly.

"That wasn't normal throwing. You did... something... to it." Pyrrha raised her eyebrow.

"Something? Honestly, I'm offended." Ruby snorted.

"No, really. That was your Semblance, wasn't it? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours? Please please pleaseeee?" Ruby had perfect doggy eyes. Pyrrha, although she was acting rough because the girl was a threat, melted a little. But... her Semblance was one of the best kept secrets in the kingdom, she couldn't honestly be expected to-

"Polarity, control over any type of metal I touch." Oum damnit, she even explained it! Ruby's mouth and eyes became round, and her eyes gained sparkles.

"Woahh... Mine is just slowing stuff down, which is kinda dumb compared to yours, but still... woahhhh..." Pyrrha was starting to realize that the girl was no longer a threat, but was still powerful.

"Do you not know much about it? I can't sense much aura coming off of you." Ruby snorted.

"Of course I know about it! It's just... hard to explain. And I have lots of aura! It just only comes out when I use it!"

"Uh-huh... I didn't feel any of it against the Death Stalker..."

"Well that's because I didn't use it, of course." Pyrrha still doubted that very much, but decided to keep quiet.

"So... explain more?" Ruby frowned.

"I told you that it was hard to explain! I know! We can fight and I'll just show you!" Pyrrha was internally laughing. _'Her? Against me? This is going to be a massacre. Yeah, she's strong, but I'm stronger. I'm Pyrrha Nikos! I'm the four-time back-to-back winner of the Mistral Tournament! I'm the...'_ Pyrrha's mind flashed back to blon- _Jaune_ recognizing her as the... _'Pumpkin Pete Girl...'_

Pyrrha shook her head. "Fine. Tell me when you're ready." Quick as, if not quicker than the night before, Ruby retrieved her scythe and ran to the opposite site of the practice arena.

"Ready when you are!" She chirped. Pyrrha was still interested in the girl's Semblance, however.

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet?" Ruby tilted her head, confused as to the change of pace.

"Yes, a bet. Whe-... _If_ I win, you have to explain your semblance more."

"Hmm..." Ruby considered it. "Alright. And if I win... I'll decide later. Ready yet?" Pyrrha couldn't help but be charmed by the enthusiastic nature of the smaller girl.

"Yes, ready when you are." With that, Ruby shot out of her corner at Pyrrha, who still noticed no aura change. Seeing as the cat was already out of the bag, Pyrrha summoned the scythe out of the girl's hands and threw it out of the arena, thoroughly enjoying to moment of shock on the girl's face, before becoming slightly scared as the girl stopped and slowly became angry. The temperature seemed to raise a few degrees, although Pyrrha noted still no change in the girl's aura.

"Now that wasn't very nice..." Pyrrha Nikos was not scared by many things, but this voice sent her on edge. This was the voice that the girl had used talking to the Death Stalker. One of... _superiority_.

All of the sudden, the tiny girl zipped to her right, sending a punch that pushed her back despite her superior reflexes allowing her to block, which started a barrage of punches and kicks as the girl started zipping around her. Pyrrha grit her teeth. While she wasn't taking major damage, the punches still hurt, and she had no openings to attack. After about a minute of this, Ruby jumped back.

Ruby wore a bored expression. "Impressive..." She said, her tone implying the opposite, as if she was looking at a bug. Pyrrha responded through panting,

"Earlier... you said that your aura... flared when you used it... was that just a lie or joke?" Ruby seemed confused.

"No, definitely serious. No reason to lie about it."

"Yet I felt no increase in aura just now." Ruby's stare was starting to make Pyrrha sweat. She wasn't scared or nervous often, but she was now.

"You're joking, right...? Of course there wouldn't be any spike in aura, I wasn't using my Semblance. Want me to use it?"

"Y-Yes...?" It was a question more than a statement. Ruby grinned.

"Wrong answer." All of the sudden, Ruby disappeared, and Pyrrha felt exactly six blows on each side of her chest in the same instant, knocking her backwards. Of course, she couldn't really comprehend this, as she was too busy dealing with the insane spike in temperature that was only matched by the insane spike in Ruby's aura, which flared out across the room. Ruby now leaned against the wall as Pyrrha got to her feet, tapping her foot impatiently, the aura slowly receding. "Again, I must ask... Want me to use my Semblance?" Drawing in deep breaths of air, Pyrrha responded with a definite,

"No." Ruby beamed.

"Good choice." Pyrrha blushed red with anger and humiliation.

"You caught me by surprise, it won't happen again." And indeed, it didn't. Watching Ruby's smirk, Pyrrha could tell she was about to be assaulted with another barrage. This time, instead of blocking, Pyrrha caught Ruby's leg. The look of shock on the younger girl's face almost made up for the pain that she had just gone through... but not enough to stop Pyrrha from unleashing a devastating punch directly into Ruby's face. Inwardly, the Amazonian Warrior winced at how hard she had hit the girl, but knew that she couldn't afford to hold back.

On the other side of the arena, the girl's body laid prone, unmoving. Now slightly scared, Pyrrha started slowly inching towards the body. "T... Tori?" No response. Pyrrha recognized shallow breaths coming from the girl, so she wasn't dead, but she was possibly in danger of dying. Pyrrha didn't feel much aura softening the blow, possibly because it wasn't expected in the slightest. She ran over to the smaller girl, and flipped her over, preparing for the worst...

Only to find Ruby smiling, then saying, "I knew you cared," before disappearing into thin air. Pyrrha whirled around at the place she had stood moments before with fear and shock quickly turning into anger and annoyance.

"Stop playing with my emotions!" Pyrrha's aura started expanding and intensifying, but...

"Playing? Me? Why, I'd never." She wasn't able to match Ruby's aura exploding outwards once again. Both parties readied themselves to attack.

 ***CLACK* *CLACK***

The sound of a cane brought them both back to their senses.

"Girls, while I'm glad to see you two already practicing, I don't think it would be wise to destroy the school's training room on your second full day here." Two pairs of eyes shot towards the school's headmaster. Pyrrha started to panic.

"Headmaster! We were... were... uh... just... we were just..." Pyrrha couldn't think of any logical excuse for what they had been about to do. Ozpin held up a hand to stop her.

"Relax, Miss Nikos. I am well aware of what you were planning on doing, as, believe it or not, I too was once a teen male walking these halls for the first time." Ignoring Ruby's whisper of "Really?", he continued. "As I should probably not say who would have won, I definitely will not tell either of you that Miss Gray would have been the victor in that situation. Please do remember that classes start in 45 minutes as well." He started walking away as silently as he came, leaving Pyrrha wondering if he realized that he did exactly what he said he wasn't going to do, and Ruby wondering _just what the damn hell_ was in the headmaster's mug.

A few moments later, Pyrrha slowly turned to Ruby. "W-well then..." She was honestly at a loss for words. Ruby started leaning on her scythe that she had somehow recovered between... whenever and now.

"Guess that fight is done, huh? That was fun! Too bad we tied..." Ruby pouted, a full 180 from her emotions just a minute ago. It was like she had trouble deciding on certain feelings. Pyrrha sighed in response.

"Unfortunately, I believe you won. That's what Headmaster Ozpin said. So... you get a favor. Whenever, where-"

"I want you to be my friend." Ruby cut the other girl off.

"...What?"

"I want you to be my friend. Let your hair down around me. I'm not just your competition, I'm your teammate, and I want to be your friend, too." Pyrrha was confused.

"I could give you money, fight wars for you, nearly anything else... and you want me to be your friend?"

"Yep." Pyrrha's heart was yearning for this to be true. She never truly had friends. Everything before had just been "Train! Train! Train! Advertise! Train! Advertise! Advertise! Train!" She wasn't used to someone actually wanting to get to know her... and it was this last thought that broke the dam. Tears started slowly dripping out of her tear ducts, her shields slowly breaking down...

"I'd be honored to be your friend, Tori."

* * *

 **Content Word Count: 1,890 words.**

 **Total Word Count: 2,048 words.**

 **So, here we see some character development, and the building of an important friendship. Pyrrha and Ruby both acted really OOC in this chapter I realize, but after this, they will both be back to normal! (Well, Ruby obviously won't be "normal" per se, but you get the idea). Pyrrha had been pushed to be alone at the top for her entire life, I find it odd that she would just come to Beacon practically begging to be taken advantage of, and the entire idea doesn't sit well with me. And, fear not, Ruby doesn't actually have any ulterior motive for this!**

 **Last thing, how long do y'all think it should be before Tori reveals herself as Ruby? Should this story start to pick up in speed?**

 **Yours truly, PJO Fan Power.**

 **Time Finished: 1:00 A.M EST, 12/20/18**


	6. Chapter 6

A month of classes passed before anything really started to become comfortable between the teammates of Team Pristine. Whilst a blond-haired boy named Jaune, a black-haired girl named Blake, a white-haired girl named Weiss, and the bubbly blonde-haired girl named Yang, whom Ruby still could not shake the feeling of familiarity from, started bonding together, the mood in the Pristine dorm room was... interesting.

Ren and Nora had known each other for a while back, and to Ruby, it seemed like both saw the other as the most important thing, if not the only thing they had left. Ren was incredibly calm, a stark contrast to Nora's extroverted personality. To all three other occupants of the room, the entire routine seemed forced from the girl, but they kept their mouths shut.

Pyrrha's dorm placement was now common knowledge around the school, and the first few week had been full of fans of all years making their way to their room, sometimes in the dead of night, in hopes of sparking a conversation or a friendship with the Amazonian Warrior.

Speaking of friendships, Pyrrha and Ruby were... not getting very far. As many people know, saying things and doing things are very different, and circumstances can often get in the way. Thus, the mood in the dorm was very tense, with Pyrrha struggling to remain compassionate and incompassionate at the same time as the team leader.

However, a month in, the first-year students went on their first off-campus adventure to a forest called Forever Fall. Their task was to collect Red Sap from the inner trees of the forest and bring their filled jars back to Professor Goodwitch, who would wait at the entrance to the forest. They were given a fair warning, however - the forest was filled with creatures of darkness, as well as Rapier Wasps, which were lethal insects who loved the Red Sap excreted by the trees.

Halfway through the project, however, the blonde haired boy that had annoyed Weiss shattered multiple jars of the sap, attracting hordes of Rapier Wasps. The feelings of fear and dismay spread quickly throughout the student population, serving as a beacon for the multitudes of Grimm in the forest.

Now, this wasn't a horrible problem, as Professor Goodwitch had come rushing into the forest to save the day, successfully subverting the population of Wasps, and, seeing her, the student population had been revitalized, and struck against the Grimm with renewed energy. They had started to head back to the Bullhead that had brought them to the forest, somehow managing to forget something very important... The Professor had redirected the entire horde of Rapier Wasps to the lone team of PRTN.

Now, Team Pristine was easily the most advanced class of its year, but hundreds of deadly Wasps, combined with dozens of Grimm, was a lethal combo. A grueling fight was unfolding for the quartet as the rest of the students were evacuating.

"Pyrrha, got any extra weapons?" Tori called as her rifle was proving very inefficient for the beasts. The redhead snorted as she shield bashed a Wasp before stabbing it with her spear.

"What do I look like, a walking arsenal?" She asked rhetorically. Tori thought for a second.

"Yep!" Smiling like a maniac.

"Well, I'm not. On your left." Pyrrha spoke calmly, spotting the stray Grimm out of the corner of her eye, who's head disappeared a second later.

"I already saw it."

"Sure you did." The mindless banter was commonplace between the two. Their conversations had been almost entirely limited to small talk about things like homework and classes.

On the other side of the clearing, Nora, an orange-haired pixie, was wildly swinging her hammer around, gleefully smashing anything unlucky enough to be in her way. She and Tori had hit it off immediately.

"Nora, on your six!" A call came out from her long-time companion, Lie Ren. Nora didn't even turn around, rather, she just swung her hammer back to smush the Rapier Wasp before bringing it around in an arc to decapitate another Beowolf.

On her side, the redhead Amazonian was surrounded by the bodies of Grimm. As she ended the life of yet another Boarbatusk, she could see the crowd finally thinning out. Smiling, she snuck a glance at the girl who had captured her thoughts for the past few weeks... only to see her sitting on the ground, bored, with at least as many Grimm corpses as Pyrrha had been struggling with decomposing around her body.

"Tori," Pyrrha yelled, preparing to shield-bash an Ursa running at her, "want to come help me out?" Tori smiled and stretched her arms as if she had been leisurely napping instead of destroying soulless monsters. She shifted her rifle to scythe form, knelt down, and popped out the blade and slapped the shaft onto her back, now holding a wickedly sharp, three foot long blade.

In an instant, Tori was halfway across the clearing... when she tripped. Grunting, she coughed up a bit of blood. In surprise, Pyrrha dropped her guard to look over at her teammate - and was promptly slammed into by an Ursa. She flew in the air for about twenty feet, but managed to land on her feet. When she looked up again, Tori was now standing up, but definitely not prepared for the same Ursa that had run into Pyrrha, which was now running at her.

Reacting on pure emotion, Pyrrha threw her spear, scoring a perfect strike through both eyes of the beast. She quickly summoned her spear back to her to impale two Rapier Wasps who were flying up behind her, making a sickening squelching noise. Meanwhile, Tori grimaced as she sat up, smiled a half-smile at Pyrrha, and got back to her feet just in time to stab a Creep who had come bounding up beside her through the chest.

Back with Nora and Ren, they managed to subdue a particularly large Ursa who had seemed to be the leader of the pack. All around them, Grimm bodies were deteriorating. Pyrrha sprinted over to Tori and helped steady her.

"What was that?" Pyrrha asked, although it was more like yelled.

"Used too much _*cough*_ aura." Tori replied. "I'll be fine _*cough*_ in a few hours."

 _'A few hours?_ ' Thought Pyrrha. _'I don't know if they are any of these Grimm left, but if there are, we don't have a few hours!'_

As if Ren was reading Pyrrha's thoughts, he spoke up.

"I called Professor Goodwitch. The Bullhead is on it's way to us. We're fine. I think we're going to be having a long talk once we get onto the ship though." Halfway through the sentence, Tori passed out, and Pyrrha scooped her up in a fireman's carry. As they were waiting for the Bullhead, Pyrrha snuck a few quick looks at the girl sleeping in her arms whilst Nora recounted her favorite kill of the recent fight.

Tori looked very innocent while she was sleeping, without the dull pits of her eyes gazing into everyone's souls, or her crazy remarks coming every few seconds. Tori, Pyrrha thought, blushing and looking away from the girl's face, looked slightly cute when she was asleep.


End file.
